Please note that due to the volume of applicants, we can only respond to people we wish to interview for an opening, and it can take up to six months to respond.

We accept volunteers from all locations, but we are currently especially looking for volunteers in Vancouver and the surrounding areas. If this is you, now is a great time to apply.

Thank you for your interest in the Growing Room Collective. Before you apply to become a collective member, or “Roomie,” here’s an overview of what we’re asking for:

  • Reading submissions or “slush”. We get A LOT a lot of submissions to our issues and contests, and this is the heart of volunteering with Room. This is approximately a 6–8hr/month commitment.
  • Attendance at our virtual annual anti-oppressive training
  • Editing issues of Room: Growing Room Collective members also edit issues of Room! Each issue of the magazine is edited by a new team of 3-5 editors hired from the Growing Room Collective on an honorarium basis. We have a circular mentorship structure, and you can join the editorial ladder as Shadow, then Assistant Editor, and finally Lead Editor. Do you have a vision for your own issue? You can bring it to life! Editing the magazine is optional, but usually something Roomies are excited about.

Optional Opportunities: Besides reading submissions, how far you want to go with Room is up to you. Other Roomie opportunities and volunteer responsibilities can include:

  • Attending editorial meetings and shaping the future of the collective
  • Proofing issues of Room and getting a sneak peak of what’s coming
  • Supporting Room‘s presence at issue launches and other literary events
  • Interviewing Room‘s contest judges and interviewing other folks in the community for an honorarium
  • Applying for independent grants for your own projects with the structural support of Room
  • Taking on additional roles to support the production of our four quarterly issues. These roles might require additional hours, whether on a seasonal basis (for example, the duration of Room’s annual contests or the grant-writing season), or on an ongoing basis (for example, marketing, production)

Whats in it for you? In exchange for your time and commitment, you will receive a subscription to Room, chances to apply for honorarium-based opportunities and internships only available to Roomies, and mentorship and learning opportunities as you climb the editorial ladder and participate in our training workshops. You get to work with a talented collective of people who share the same interests and who are all out to do the same thing: put together a magazine, events, and projects while always striving to be inclusive, respectful, and open-minded about all the varying voices we want to support and elevate. We also want this to be a supportive and caring environment, have your successes celebrated, and your hardships supported. In order for us to learn more about you, please take a few minutes to answer the following questions. Please feel free to add any further details that you think will be useful for us, and check out our submissions page for more information.  

    Tell us about yourself



    Roomies read manuscripts, attend monthly meetings, and participate in our four annual marketing events and issue launches. These commitments require an average of 8 hours per month. Are you comfortable with this level of commitment for a minimum of 6 months?

    Please upload your resume (optional) File type .doc, .docx or PDF only